[ given the kind of person she's come to understand tseng as, and the kind of people they both are, she doesn't think it's something he's talked about very much. it's already strange enough to be stuck here with their superior to begin with, much less talk about them to other people they're involved with. she may not understand the complexities of tseng's relationship with rufus, but she does understand what he means. were they still in fontaine, neuvillette would still remain where he is: high on his altar, impassive and objective. they each have always had a role to play. ]

I understand what you mean. I'd like to think that it would be, with him and I. There's... less expectations here for us to follow.

[ speaking of rufus, though— ]

I met him once, your President. We were paired up in the same cooking class at the university some months ago.